First Full Day

I am glad that I waited until I'd had a good night's sleep to write this posting, so my mind would have time to absorb all of the wonderful experiences from my first full day at residency. Yesterday was indeed full...full of ritual, workshop, lecture, writing exercises and other such artistic activity.

"No one outside ourselves can rule us inwardly. When we know this, we become free." I received this quote in a plastic Easter egg during a graduating student presentation, which was based on the concept of identity in the past, present, future and after death. I think about this statement as I reflect on my artistic process, and my motives for making art. I have a conversation with some of my class mates about how the outside world; people, circumstances, etc., can rule our perception of our own art, if we let it. And that if we know within ourselves that our artwork is coming from an honest place, that we feel genuinely connected to, who is to judge if it is "good," or "professional," or otherwise? We agree that to keep a level head in the face of artistic adversity, we must continue to make our own opportunities, and continue to show up when outside opportunities present themselves, with open minds and willing flexibility.

During another graduating student presentation, I am inspired by beautiful, soft, flowing photography printed on pieces of silk and cotton. Richard is a photographer, with a vision impairment. He sees things very differently than we see them, thus his photographs reflect these differences. His art practice is a culmination of a few things: The improvement of his vision through natural means, quantum physics, and of course, photography. He calls the amalgamation of these parts Quantum Seeing. He takes us through a series of exercises by which he explains the concept of Quantum Seeing in a way we can all experience it. He then goes on the describe the photographs he has exhibited in the space, which are of both inanimate objects and people. His photographs are exquisite examples of attention to light and texture as he sees it. There are large in size, with soft halos around many of the subjects, and there is satisfying negative space and deep shadow. The fabric is so light, that it is constantly moving, which seems to bring these graceful images to life.

Later in the day, we are split into our advising groups. My adviser is Petra for this term. She is a fascinating woman, who has traveled the world, makes many forms of art and has written numerous books concerning artistic practice. She is very much invested in ritual, and we begin our time together as a group with just that. We walk silently toward the ocean, picking up on the way, one object that represents something we fear and one object that represents a source of joy for us. I pick up a dead leaf, which represents cessation of all things I hold dear, and a new seedling, which represents growth and love. Each of us offers the group these things in turn. Then she introduces us to the practice of Whakapapa, a form of introduction which originated in New Zealand. To introduce yourself in the tradition of Whakapapa, one is to tell the person or people they are meeting what their river is, what their mountain is and who their people are. I decided that my river is a river of passion. It is warm, fast moving and full of vibrant, colorful creatures. I decided that my father is my mountain. He has protected me from bad weather, and given me solid ground to stand on. He is at times hard to understand, but at his summit is a broad view of the world. And I decided that my people are those who seek passion, like myself.

One of the evening's activities included a workshop entitled, "Appropriate Gift." During the workshop, we explored the creative process, and how "the gift of creativity obliges us to act." Ju-Pong Lin, who presented the workshop, provided resources in the form of passages from books, group discussion and writing exercises. We all wrote a poem depicting the journey of our lives using the word, "waiting." A stanza from my poem went,

"I couldn't wait
to breathe
to hear
to kick my legs
and see with my eyes
So I came one month early"

And the poem goes on this way, stating all of the things I couldn't wait for, and in typical Cara fashion, I didn't.

Off for more!

~Cara